Our Humble Home
by mostlypsychotic
Summary: It's pretty rough when your eight-year-old adopted daughter is adapting to a society without knowing a thing in advance. But to Kiyoteru, that's the fun of it. Sequel to 'Good Morning.'


"Daddy! Are you up yet?"

Two floors up, Kiyoteru rubbed his eyes sleepily as Yuki's childish voice sounded up the stairs. A glance at the clock revealed that he was late, and that his daughter was probably impatient by now.

"I'm getting up! Sorry!" he called back down, hurrying over to his closet. It was still summer vacation, but he was most comfortable dressed like the teacher he was going to be in a few months. He had gotten the job just days after waking up; something told him that his creators had seen to that, and Yuki would be enrolled in the same school. He greatly appreciated the way things had turned out- after all, Yuki had never seen anything before she woke up, and she was having a harder time adapting to this new environment than he was. The last thing he needed was for her to be thrown into an environment where she was alone all over again.

But at the moment, she was waiting for him, and he had to hurry down the stairs and grab a bagel as he went through the kitchen. Yuki was nibbling on an apple as she sat by the door, and pouted up at him as he came into sight.

"You're _late_, Daddy," she complained, rising to her feet and straightening out her skirt. Kiyoteru ruffled her hair, smiling apologetically as he opened the front door and stepped out into the cool morning.

"The shop's aren't going anywhere," he said, watching the girl bound down the path while he locked the door. By the time he caught up to her, she had regained her impatient expression.

"But you promised," she argued, starting down the sidewalk by his side.

"I know, I know. What counts is that we're on our way, now..." He trailed off, watching as Yuki's attention was taken over by their next-door neighbor turning on their hose to water the plants. She gazed at it, completely star-struck by this turn in events, then turned back to her father.

"Daddy, look! Water's coming out of that thing!" she said, pointing at it. The woman turned, confused at the child's amazement, and gave them both an amiable wave as Kiyoteru hurried the girl along.

"I've explained that one to you already, Yuki. That's a hose."

It was a little rough, he'd admit. Unlike Yuki, he had been programmed with all of these basic things drilled into his mind. Maybe it was because he was an adult, and he was expected to, but they hadn't planted much besides the basics into poor little Yuki's head. Ever since they had come out into this little town and attempted to fit in with the rest of the world, she had been asking question after question, and Kiyoteru had realized quickly that he had a lot of work to do. And she was working just as hard to remember everything that she was told. It meant a lot to him, in turn.

"Let's go to the park!" Yuki said abruptly, clambering up on the railing and looking eagerly at the playground. Her father shook his head affectionately, scooping her up and putting her on his shoulders.

"We're going shopping today, remember? Maybe if we have some time afterward," he promised, trying his best to ignore her heels digging into his chest. She giggled innocently, leaning on his head as they moved on and enjoying the new view.

"Okay~ But you have to push me on the swings, then." She had learned about the swings last week, and they were her new second-favorite thing at the park, right after the fountain. She had been amazed the first time Kiyoteru demonstrated them to her, and when it was her turn, she had exclaimed that it felt as though she was flying.

The store was surprisingly quiet, even with it being a weekday. As Kiyoteru pulled his list from his coat pocket, Yuki instantly wandered off, her brown eyes even wider than normal as she observed the large shelves before her.

"Daddy? What's that?" she asked, pointing up at the bottles on the first shelf. Kiyoteru glanced up to find that she had already put more than enough distance between them, and hurried after him.

"That's called detergent. We use it to make clothes clean. I actually need some..." he explained, grabbing a bottle and tossing it into the cart behind him. Yuki had already dashed off again, pointing curiously at everything she passed.

"What's that?" she called from the end of the aisle, prompting her father to break into a run to catch up with her and nearly trip over the cart in his hurry.

"That...? It's...dog food..." he panted, adjusting his glasses. "Stop running off. You're going to get us yelled at." The girl nodded obediently and stayed at his side, peering around as they weaved through the countless aisles.

"What's that?" she asked again after a while, pointing up at a large box of chocolates. Kiyoteru grabbed it and held it up to her, grinning.

"Chocolate! You've had some before," he said cheerfully. Yuki gazed at the box, frowning a little.

"It looks weird!" she chimed in, smiling again. The schoolteacher nodded, straightening up and looking down at the box.

"It's special, I guess. It costs a lot of money, so it must be really good. You usually get this kind on a special occasion, or for somebody really important to you," he explained, smiling softly. "But if you want to try it, I'll get you some. I mean, you're my important person, right, Yuki?" He paused, only to be met with silence, and finally looked up to find that he was alone again. "...Yuki?" From the next aisle over, he could hear his daughter giggle a little, before calling over to him.

"Daddy, what's—_ahh!_" Her voice was suddenly accompanied by a deafening clatter, and Kiyoteru winced as he darted over to find her surrounded by spilled boxes of soda cans. "Oops."

Once he had helped the cashier clean everything up, Kiyoteru found his child sitting in customer service, talking cheerfully with the manager before they both noticed him. She at least looked a little bashful about the mess she had made as they headed out for the night.

"...Sorry, Daddy," she mumbled, tugging hopefully on his jacket sleeve. Kiyoteru sighed and took her hand, smiling despite his best efforts.

"It's okay. Just don't run off like that, especially in stores. And when you're getting something, get the one on the top of a pile. Understand?" Yuki nodded, beaming all over again and humming as they continued towards their little house.

"Okay! Can I go on the swings now?" she asked hopefully, noticing that the playground was in sights. Kiyoteru glanced up to find that the sun was close to setting, but it _was _a summer night. It would be nice enough for a while longer.

"...Yeah, you can go on the swings. Come on," he said, following her as she dashed to the swing-set and clambered up. "Remember to hold on!"

It _was _a little rough, he knew that much. But the people who had programmed them had known that from the start. They couldn't just expect that being a Vocaloid meant that everything was handed to them. And to Kiyoteru, that was the fun of it. That was what made it feel like parenthood.


End file.
